Like the first is the second commandment,—“Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself.”[9] The law of love calls for the devotion of body, mind,
and soul to the service of God and our fellow-men. And this service,
while making us a blessing to others, brings the greatest blessing to
ourselves. Unselfishness underlies all true development. Through
unselfish service we receive the highest culture of every faculty. More
and more fully do we become partakers of the divine nature. We are
fitted for heaven; for we receive heaven into our hearts.
[Sidenote: _Revelation of God_]
[Sidenote: _Nature’s Teaching Insufficient_]
Since God is the source of all true knowledge, it is, as we have seen,
the first object of education to direct our minds to His own revelation
of Himself. Adam and Eve received knowledge through direct communion
with God; and they learned of Him through His works. All created things,
in their original perfection, were an expression of the thought of God.
To Adam and Eve nature was teeming with divine wisdom. But by
transgression man was cut off from learning of God through direct
communion, and, to a great degree, through His works. The earth, marred
and defiled by sin, reflects but dimly the Creator’s glory. It is true
that His object-lessons are not obliterated. Upon every page of the
great volume of His created works may still be traced His handwriting.
Nature still speaks of her Creator. Yet these revelations are partial
and imperfect. And in our fallen state, with weakened powers and
restricted vision, we are incapable of interpreting aright. We need the
fuller revelation of Himself that God has given in His written word.
[Sidenote: _The Standard of Truth_]
The Holy Scriptures are the perfect standard of truth, and as such
should be given the highest place in education. To obtain an education
worthy of the name, we must receive a knowledge of God, the Creator, and
of Christ, the Redeemer, as they are revealed in the sacred word.
[Sidenote: _Individuality_]
Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power
akin to that of the Creator,—individuality, power to think and to do.
The men in whom this power is developed are the men who bear
responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who influence
character. It is the work of true education to develop this power; to
train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s
thought. Instead of confining their study to that which men have said or
written, let students be directed to the sources of truth, to the vast
fields opened for research in nature and revelation. Let them
contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny, and the mind will
expand and strengthen. Instead of educated weaklings, institutions of
learning may send forth men strong to think and to act, men who are
masters and not slaves of circumstances, men who possess breadth of
mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions.
[Sidenote: _Character_]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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